IC Oversight & Policy — 2026-06-30

Trump Demands Master List of All Foreign Intelligence Targets Tracked by US Agencies as CIA and FBI Resist

BLUFCentralizing compartmented asset identities under a politically appointed DNI with no intelligence background would create an unprecedented single point of failure for active US human-source operations worldwide.

The White House, through the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, has asked federal intelligence agencies to compile a single master list of foreign intelligence targets, including suspected spies and potential recruits, according to a New York Times report cited by The New Republic 1. Senior counterintelligence officials at the CIA and FBI have resisted the request, and the intelligence community has not agreed on how such a list would be created, maintained, or secured, the Times reported 1. Sputnik, citing the same reporting, said ODNI officials frame the effort as a way to improve coordination across agencies, while FBI and CIA officials cited concerns that consolidating the data would compromise covert operations and increase the risk of leaks 2. Acting Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte, a Trump appointee who replaced Tulsi Gabbard after her June resignation, lacks prior intelligence experience, a point both outlets note sources have raised in connection with the list 12. An official from Pulte's office told the Times the effort stems from National Security Presidential Memorandum 7 1.

Analysis
The request exposes a structural rift between the White House and career counterintelligence leadership over control of compartmentalized identities. Centralizing recruit and asset data outside existing compartmentation systems would create a single point of failure for ongoing operations if breached or leaked, which is the core objection CIA and FBI officials have raised. Pulte's lack of intelligence background sharpens agency distrust of how the list would be secured and who would see it. Tying the effort to NSPM-7, a directive aimed at domestic political activity, raises the separate question of whether the list's purpose extends beyond foreign-target coordination. Moderate confidence rests on the Times' direct access to administration sources, tempered by the absence of any on-record statement from the resisting counterintelligence officials themselves.

3 sources

Trump Demands Master List of Espionage Targets Tracked by U.S. Intel - The New Republic
Trump Administration Seeks Single Database of Foreign Espionage Targets - Reports - Sputnik Globe
Trump Demands Master List of Espionage Targets Tracked by U.S. Intel - The New York Times